2310.3 Terminating a Grant Under Section 203
2310.3(A) What Types of Grants May Be Terminated Under Section 203?
A grant may be terminated under Section 203, but only if the grant was executed by the author on or after January 1, 1978.
As the legislative history explains, Section 203 only applies "to inter vivos transfers or licenses executed by the author." H.R. Rep. No. 94-1476, at 125 (1976], reprinted in 1976 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 5740; S. Rep. No. 94-473, at 108 (1975). Grants executed on or after January 1, 1978 by the author's heirs are not subject to termination under the Copyright Act. Likewise, Section 203 does not apply to grants made by will, grants involving a work made for hire, or grants involving rights arising under any other federal, state, or foreign law.
2310.3(B) Who May Terminate a Grant Under Section 203?
A grant made by the author of a work may be terminated by that individual.
If the grant was executed by two or more authors of a joint work, the grant may be terminated by a majority of the joint authors who executed the grant. By contrast, if the joint authors executed separate grants, then each grant may be terminated by the individual who executed that grant.
If an author or joint author is deceased, and if that individual did not exercise his or her right to terminate under Section 203, the grant may be terminated by a majority of the author's heirs. The heirs may include the author's widow or widower, the author's children, and/or the children of any child who predeceased the author. The Copyright Act defines a "widow" or "widower" as "the author's surviving spouse under the law of the author's domicile at the time of his or her death, whether or not the spouse has later remarried." The author's "children" are defined as "that person's immediate offspring, whether legitimate or not, and any children legally adopted by that person."
If all of the author's heirs are deceased, and if the author never exercised his or her right to terminate under Section 203, the grant may be terminated by the author's executor, administrator, personal representative, or trustee.
17U.S.C. §§ 101, 203(a}.
2310.3(C) When May a Grant Be Terminated Under Section 203?
A grant may be terminated under Section 203 during a five-year "termination period." The beginning and ending of this period varies depending on whether the author conveyed the right to publish his or her work.
• If the author did not convey the right of publication, the termination period begins thirty-five years after the date that the grant was executed.
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